The regulatory context of teacher accountability: how unions, external standards and national policies influence teacher professionalism

• In Event: Agentic teacher accountability; a conceptual framework for comparative research

Proposal

Education systems vary in the governance of school quality and improvement and how schools and teachers are held accountable. Accountability systems set standards of good teaching and/or student outcomes, ensure compliance to regulations on for example safeguarding or qualifications of teachers in schools and, as such, inform the work of school staff, and also the public’s and parents’ trust in schools and teachers. External accountability and wider policies regulate the core process of teaching and school organisation, such as when teachers are working towards high stakes assessments or have to teach a national curriculum. These standard however also affect the interpersonal relations within school, the autonomy teachers have to -individually and collectively- shape their work, their professional development and learning and what is considered high quality teaching. In our configuration synthesis we analysed findings from previous studies in South Africa, India, Nepal, Honduras, Afghanistan and Pakistan to answer the following questions:
- Does teachers’ understanding of their accountability and responsibility vary according to the formal accountability system (-combinations of- compliance-oriented, professional, performance-based), and type of governance of the education system (hierarchy, market, network).
- How do national policies and practices of teacher recruitment, selection and promotion, curriculum and assessment, and the role of teacher unions affect teachers’ understanding of, and enactment of their accountability?

Initial findings from India and Nepal for example show a clear distinction between vertical (i.e. compliance-oriented) and professional forms of accountability rooted in horizontal relationships and normative commitment. These forms of accountability vary considerably between government and private schools, with more vertical accountability in government schools. However, the link between these forms of accountability to students’ literacy and numeracy abilities is not clear, particularly when social characteristics of the different forms of schooling are taken into account, and the relationship appears to vary by context.
Initial analysis of data from Honduras of a new monitoring and support system in secondary education - the Sistema de Aprendizaje Tutorial; SAT- Tutorial Learning System – provides insight into how a more supportive and localized system for accountability can improve pedagogical practices and learning outcomes (relative to traditional secondary schools). The Honduran case documents how the system has created a culture of culture of accompaniment and horizontal accountability where school teachers and external assessors work collaboratively to improve learning outcomes, emphasizing shared learning and a normative commitment to ongoing improvement.
Finally, findings from South Africa point to the role of teacher unions in how teachers understand and enact their accountability. Where teacher unions are oriented toward professional development and support of teachers, there is more emphasis on the well-being and learning outcomes of their students than to negotiating good working conditions and meeting strict external demands. The school leader is also better able to negotiate a positive role of school-level involvement of teacher unions when there staff are members of more than union.

Authors

• melanie Ehren, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

• Erin Murphy-Graham, University of California Berkeley

• jean-Francois Trani, Washington University in St. Louis

• Artemio Arturo Cortez Ochoa, University of Bristol, UK